Risks and Kisses
by InkedPetal
Summary: Clary finds herself falling for Jace, but there is just one problem - she is already engaged. AU/AH. College. Jace x Clary.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: All characters of the Mortal Instruments belong to Cassandra Clare. All plot lines, other characters, and words belong to InkedPetal._

_A/N: Hello! This will be a full-fledged story. I will try to update at least once a week, maybe more, maybe less, but there is no definite updating schedule. Enjoy!  
_

_Clary x Jace. AU/AH._

_.*.*.  
_

**Prologue  
**

"Happy Birthday Clary!" everybody cheered in unison. There was much clapping, laughing, and in Max's case, licking. I could see a finger-shaped dent in the creamy icing of the cheesecake, and the little seven-year-old took no trouble in hiding the fact that he was the culprit. If it was any other seven-year-old, I would've kicked their ass, but Max was an exception.

"C'mon Clary, hurry up and blow out the candles!" Jon whined. I rolled my I eyes - somebody was eager for the cake.

"Okay Jon, we all know you want cake," I replied. He flashed me a good-natured grin.

"Make a wish!" said Mom. I was never really able to think of a wish in the split-second before I blew out my candles, but here went nothing_. I wish…_ I took a deep breath and before I could complete the thought, the flames were gone and there was just a trail of smoke that wafted away from me. I sighed. Twenty-first fail.

We all quivered in excitement like little children as Dad cut the cake. My eyes trailed over to Simon and our gazes locked. Warmth blossomed in my heart as green met chocolate. "Happy birthday," he mouthed. I was about to mouth a thank you before Dad exclaimed, "And the first slice of cake goes to our twenty-one year old Clary Fray!" He heaped a slice of cheesecake onto my plate and I hurriedly jabbed my fork into it.

"Mmm," I moaned as the cake melted on my tongue. Isabelle laughed at my expression so I grinned at her with all the cheesy goodness in my mouth. She cringed and shot me a glare.

I still can't believe that I'm twenty-one. Although I am legally an independent adult, I'm not so sure if I want my childhood to end so quickly. But, growing up still came with its benefits, like alcohol.

My fork dove into the cake and as I took another bite. I shoved it into my mouth, expecting it to melt away, but there was something solid in the middle. I spat it out before I could choke on it, and there, in the middle of my palm, sat a ring, with a big fat diamond in the middle.

Horror flooded through my body.

.*.*.

_A/N: I know Jace wasn't in here, but he will be soon :). Please review!_


	2. Chapter 1: The Ring

_Disclaimer: Not Cassandra Clare, not my characters, no matter how much I wish that was true ;(.  
_

_A/N: Although the prologue was written in first person, the rest of the story will be in third person. Sorry for the confusion._

.*.*.

**Chapter 1: The Ring  
**

Clary stopped breathing. Her eyes became unfocused as her mind flew with thoughts. _No way. There was no way. It was much too soon, and I knew we both weren't ready for this. At least I knew I wasn't._ _We've only been dating for two years! And I'm only twenty-one! This isn't right!_ She suddenly felt nauseous. She closed her eyes and brought her hand to her head before she realized everybody was staring at her. She drew a shaky breath as Simon cleared his throat.

"Clarissa Adele Fray. The day I met you on our first day of college was the best day of my life. It brought you to me." This was followed my a chorus of "awws" but Clary remained silent, with a faint smile on her face. Simon continued, but Clary had begun to zone out. She thought of how lucky she was to have Simon, and how much she loved him. She thought of how he was just so good, and that she didn't deserve him. But she also thought of how young they were, and how unreal this was. Who knew that they would continue loving each other, for the rest of their lives? Who know what could happen in the future? They had only been dating for two years, and he was ready to propose. Clary knew that Simon wasn't a brash person, but she felt like this engagement was still slightly premature. She breathed deeply, trying to calm her nerves.

"...and I love you, Clary..." Clary focused her gaze on Simon. Why shouldn't she marry him? Was he a good, honest man? Yes. Did he love her? Yes. Did she love him? Yes. Were they happy together? Yes. "...so will you marry me?" The room was silent. All Clary could hear was the thumping of her heart. "Yes," she whispered inaudibly. "Yes," she said louder, "I'll marry you, Simon."

Simon beamed and swept Clary up, giving her a passionate and gleeful kiss. She could feel him smiling through the kiss, and she felt glad, because she knew that she had chosen the right decision.

.*.*.

Clary sat in her room with Isabelle, contemplating on what to wear to the Pandemonium. She was originally going to wear a simple, jade green spaghetti strap dress with a sweetheart neckline, but Isabelle was pushing her to try a strapless black one that stopped a little too high and began a little too low. "Clarryy, it's August and you're twenty-one. You're going to a club and you're just gonna wear _that_? Don't you want to impress Simon?"

Clary blushed. "Well, I don't want weird creeper guys grinding against me, and if I wear _that_ then that's gonna happen!"

"You know what, let's ask Simon." Isabelle smirked, sure that he would choose the black dress. "SIMON!"

"What?" he shouted exasperatedly.

"Clary's naked! Come look!" Clary threw a pillow at Isabelle but both the girls were giggling.

Simon coughed uncomfortably and remained silent, unsure on how to respond. Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Okay, she's not really but I know you were dying to have a peek."

Simon poked his head through the doorway. "Well, nothing I haven't seen," he replied.

"Oh, so I guess you never have to look anymore," Clary retorted with a smirk.

"Hey! That's no way to treat your fiancé!" Simon said with a pout.

The grin from Clary's face disappeared. A sunken feeling of uneasiness pooled in her stomach, causing Clary to bite the inside of her lip. "Yeah it is," she replied with forced lightness.

Sensing the tension, Isabelle told Simon, "So the real reason why I asked you to come up here was because Clary was going to wear this black dress but-"

"Hey!" Clary shot Isabelle a glare. "What she really meant was that I can't choose between this green dress and this black dress, and we wanted your opinion."

Simon shifted his feet. "Uhh, I think you'd look great in either of them, Clary."

Clary grinned triumphantly as Isabelle hmphed exasperatedly. "Oh stop being polite, Simon. You know you want to see her all sexyfied in the black one."

"I'm gonna leave this one to you two," and with that, Simon left.

Clary moaned. "Now how am I going to choose which dress to wear?"

_A/N: Review :).  
_


	3. Chapter 2: Pandemonium

_Disclaimer: Not Cassandra Clare…_

_A/N: I just wanted to thank everybody for all your reviews, favorites, and follows. Keep it up!_

.*.*.

**Chapter 2: Pandemonium**

There were lights of every color swiveling everywhere, illuminating random heels, dresses, and shirts. Clary shivered since she was clad in the black strapless dress; it had taken many words and bribes from Isabelle to finally give in.

Isabelle grabbed Clary's arm, pushing her way through the throng of people towards the bar. She plunked her down on the nearest seat and called out loudly, "Two Sex on the Beaches here!"

The bartender turned around, his deep blue eyes hooded. "That'll be fifteen bucks," he said in a bored voice. Isabelle caught his eyes with her charcoal ones and leaned over slightly with her elbows pressed together, exposing her cleavage. "Oh, I don't think you understand, Mister. You see, today is my friend's birthday," she pointed at Clary, "and I can pay you back another way," she said suggestively.

He smirked, his eyes focused on her cleavage and went to make their drinks. Clary laughed and shook her head at Isabelle.

"What? It's not my fault he likes me," Isabelle retorted with a smile on her lips.

"Yeah, he sure _likes_ you," Clary replied. She had always longed for the kind of confidence that exuded from Isabelle. Isabelle would do anything if she put her mind to it, and that made her the best kind of friend.

"Where's Simon?" Clary wondered out loud. After they had entered the club, Jon and Simon had gone their separate ways.

"Right here," breathed somebody into Clary's ear. She squeaked and jumped up, nearly spilling her drink. Her heart was still racing from surprise as she scolded, "Simon!"

"Sorry," he said nonchalantly.

"You're not sorry at all," pouted Clary.

"Nope," Simon replied, popping the "p", "but I still love you."

Her lips tugged upwards as she leaned in for a kiss.

"Ugh, your mushiness disgusts me," Isabelle said.

"Well I'm not the one who's gonna catch the bartender hooking up with my friend," Clary retorted.

"Eh, true, but you gotta admit, he's hot."

"More than hot, he's sexy." Clary stated, knowing it would get a rise out of Simon.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. She giggled and just patted his cheek. "That's okay, Si, you're still the pretty one."

Simon jaw dropped in mock anger, while Clary grabbed Isabelle's hand and got lost within the dancing crowd. Alcohol thrummed through Clary's body, causing her hips to sway to the beat of the music. She lost Isabelle. Clary's arms automatically reached towards the ceiling and she closed her eyes, reveling in being so free. She didn't have to worry about school or her engagement. She just had to focus on the music and losing herself within it.

She was suddenly broken from her reverie when somebody murmured in a deep sultry tone, "Hey, sexy," in her ear. His breath sent dangerous shivers down her spine. Clary was sure it was Simon so she breathed, "Trying to scare me again, aren't you?" But when Clary spun around, all she could see was gold.

.*.*.

_A/N: Eep! Who is it? I think you know ;) Review!_


	4. Chapter 3: Gold

_Disclaimer: Did I write TMI? Sadly, no. _

_A/N: Sorry for the delay. I had to rewrite this a couple (three) times in order for it to sound right. Also, the previous chapters have been improved with an additional scene in Chapter 1! I will go away now :) Enjoy!_

.*.*.

**Chapter 3: Gold**

As she was ensnared in his golden eyes, Clary's first thought was, _Damn_. And her second? Oops, all of her brain cells had been fried by then. She hadn't realized her mouth was open until she had to close it and when she did, she caught the guy smirking.

"I get that a lot," he drawled. _What a douche, _her conscience thought, but her brain screamed, _Even his voice is sexy!_

"What? A disgusted look? Ya, I can see why," Clary retorted, feeling rather proud of her witty comeback.

But, what he did next completely took her by surprise. He leaned forward so that his lips were a hairsbreadth away from her ear. He murmured, "I think you know what I meant. What do you say, you wanna take this elsewhere? The name's Jace for when you scream in ecstasy."

_He smells so good,_ her brain said somewhere in heaven. That was before she processed his words. Her eyes widen in shock and an anger she hadn't known before surged. Clary spat, "Sorry, I'm not interested," and spun away on her 5-inch heels, striding away with her head held high.

.*.*.

Jace was still in shock. He had never, ever been turned down by a girl. Not ever in his twenty-two years of existence. Puzzled, he mulled it over again. Had he done anything wrong? Was there something wrong with his charm? No, it seemed to be working fine. He shook his head, turning his attention towards a scantily clad blonde begging for his attention.

.*.*.

Clary wound her way through the crowd, scanning it for a hint of Isabelle or Simon or even Jon. She was not in the mood for another douche to attempt to bed her. She caught a flash of Isabelle's silver dress. Relief flooded her. She was afraid of getting lost or something – just one of those silly fears everybody has.

She reached Isabelle at the bar, finding her flirting with the bartender. "Hmph," Clary exclaimed.

"Who crawled up your ass and died?" Isabelle asked.

"Him," Clary sneered, jerking her chin in the general vicinity of where she imagined he was dry-humping some random victim.

"Who?" Isabelle confusedly questioned.

"Goldilocks."

"Ahh." Isabelle sighed.

Clary got confused at her reaction and cocked her head to the side.

"You must be talking about Jace Wayland, also known as the biggest dickhead or hottest guy of NYU's senior year."

Clary tried raising an eyebrow, but failed miserably. But, Isabelle got the message and continued. "He's one of the biggest players you'll find."

Ah. That settled it. "No wonder he was such an ass. He basically introduced himself and asked to fuck me in the same sentence! I mean, who does he think he is? The king of the gods or something?"

Isabelle was laughing her head off and had trouble swallowing her drink and laughing at the same time. Clary pouted. "Hey, not helping!"

"Oh-my. Oh-my-God." Isabelle could barely get her words out due to her laughed. "I mean, I expected bad from him, but not _this _bad."

Clary silently agreed.

.*.*.

Her russet hair splaying out on her pillow, Clary lay on her bed, ruminating the exhaustive day. She still wasn't entirely sure about her engagement. She was still in college for God's sake! But there was still nothing stopping her from marrying him. God, just the word. Marriage. It meant a bond that lasted an entire lifetime. It meant committing yourself to the person you loved for the next 60 years. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that. And, even though she didn't want to admit it, she wasn't sure if she was ready to spend her whole life with Simon, because he might not be the one.

_A/N: I've made this chapter slightly longer for you guys! And…there's Jace! What did you guys think? Wanna tell me in a …review? _

_P.S.: I've opened an Etsy and Storenvy shop. The links are on my profile, so please check them out!_


	5. Author's Note

**A/N: Sorry fellow fanfiction-ers, as this is only one of those despised author's notes. I've decided to restart this story in **_**Chasing My Heart**_**, which I certainly hope is much better, as I've spent much more time on it. Please check it out! The prologue has already been posted. **


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